


Jacen's Birthday

by RoninReverie



Series: Jacen Syndulla Stories [3]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Battle of Scarif, Birthday, Crossover, Post-Battle of Scarif, Post-Finale, Pre-Battle of Scarif
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2019-04-26 03:14:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14393103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoninReverie/pseuds/RoninReverie
Summary: The day that Jacen Syndulla was born was one that the galaxy would never be able to forget.





	Jacen's Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr: [Link!](http://roninreverie.tumblr.com/post/172946936124/jacens-birthday)
> 
> Irenefrost also translated it into Vietnamese: [ Link! ](https://irenefrost.tumblr.com/post/173094875396/sinh-nh%E1%BA%ADt-c%E1%BB%A7a-jacen)

The attack everyone anticipated on Lothal never came. There was no news of Ezra, of Thrawn, the purrgil, or even of a retaliation to re-seize Lothal in the name of the Empire. In fact, the Imperial presence on the planet disappeared quickly and never seemed to return.

They wanted to look for Ezra, but in all honesty, no one was sure where to start. No one knew the purrgil like Ezra did, and even recreating some of his old tricks did nothing to lure the great beasts out of hiding. For now, they simply had to trust Ezra to know what he was doing, and wait for a sign so they could one day find him.  

Meanwhile, Sabine stayed behind to watch over the planet, but after a few more weeks, the rest of the crew decided to go back to Yavin to further aid in the Rebellion. They parted ways, and have been separated ever since.

* * *

**EIGHT MONTHS LATER:**

It had been months since the liberation of Lothal, 37 weeks according to the universal calendar of time, but it managed to fly by in the blink of an eye.

Rex, Kallus, Zeb, and Hera found that they were busier than ever as each new attack revealed itself. The Empire and Rebellion had crossed paths more frequently now. That meant more chances to fracture their once unbreakable regime, and more risks taken through the Rebellion. 

Though they were plenty, none of these attacks ever seemed to grant the Rebels even the slightest taste of victory, not since Lothal, and at the cost it took in retaking that one single planet, most of the Ghost crew didn’t see that as a victory nowadays either.

Eight and a half months, though the pain of losing Kanan, of misplacing Ezra, of splitting apart as a team…it never got any easier.

Hera walked through the hangar from the Ghost, passing a group of interesting individuals she’d never seen before on her way across the building. She’d gone out on a short recon mission nearby, something she was sure to be reprimanded for later today by the council. 

Mon Mothma didn’t think she needed any additional stress, but Hera still found ways to stay in the action and lend her assistance. She was pregnant, not crippled, but a lot of folks here didn’t really seem to get that.

“The Force flows strongly around you!” A man’s voice said suddenly. It cut straight through the overlapping chatter of every other pilot and X-Wing in the bay and made Hera jump despite how friendly the speaker sounded.

She looked towards the voice only to discover that it belonged to one of those odd new faces she’d been walking by near one of the old scrapped engine pieces for the Y-Wings. The man, Hera noticed, was completely blind, dressed in symbolic robes of black and red, a long staff held in his hand, and a much larger, more wily looking man sitting directly beside him with the biggest blaster that Hera had ever seen a man carry around on his person. 

The blind man who had spoken at her wore a friendly smile on his face that instantly gave her an urge to trust him, as he offered out his hand which was lightly outstretched.

“May I?”

She swallowed, but stepped forward and allowed him to place his hands atop her large pregnant belly.

“Strong!” He said, rubbing his hands softly along her stomach before returning them to his walking stick. “Your baby is very healthy.”

“Thank you,” she smiled. “And who might you be?” Her voice was kind, but laced with such a tone that Chirrut could almost picture her face raising a brow at him.

“I am Chirrut Îmwe.” He motioned to his side. “And he is Baze Malbus.”

“Hera Syndulla,” she greeted. “You are the monks who came here with Captain Andor, aren’t you?”

“We are,” Chirrut said.

“He is,” Baze, corrected. “I’m merely his handler.”

They smiled, and Hera couldn’t help but smile too.

“They’re all in that room talking about what happened as we speak,” Baze added.

“That explains the chaos,” she noted.

Hera had heard about what Cassian had been up to from Kallus. They lost signal with him near Eadu, but heard what happened to Jedha City. To Saw Guerra and the Temple. She frowned.

“I am so sorry about Jedha,” she said, offering her hands to both men. “I can’t imagine what you must be going through.”

“Yes you can,” Baze said as he gave her a gentle nod. “Thank you for your empathy.”

This surprised Chirrut. Normally, Baze wasn’t one to be so–open? He offered a hand and Baze took it just as Hera had released her grip.

“The super weapon…” She spat the words.

She had been told about it a few days prior. A defected Imperial pilot that Andor was going to authenticate had claims of such a weapon that could destroy whole planets. Knowing the Empire, Hera wasn’t surprised by this fact, but all the while, she still hoped that maybe it might not be true. With all the new intel, it was her worst nightmares come to life. The Death Star was very real and it was already claiming lives.

“It took out the entire city of Jedha.” Baze growled under his breath. “And everyone in it.”

Hera felt herself go cold, but in all that sorrow, she couldn’t help but experience the smallest pang of relief, and she hated it. The Death Star had destroyed an entire city, but not the whole planet. Still, that was probably in development, and the attack on Jedha most likely a simple test run. 

She understood why everyone in the base was so on edge now.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “We will find some way to bring it down! I’m sure of it.”

“You are full of fighting spirit,” Chirrut said. “I sense a peace in you as well. This balance will take you far in this life, I am sure of it.”

Hera smiled. She couldn’t help but stare at the blind man before her. He seemed to be listening to something she herself could not hear. She recognized the gesture from Kanan and for a brief moment, allowed her heart to sink.

Chirrut turned his attention to her as though he had noticed it too, but simply chuckled lightly and asked, “Baze, do I have something on my face? I can feel her eyes on me.” His grin was impish and lighthearted. “Or am I simply that handsome?”

“Oh, there’s something on your face,” Baze said in a gruff voice, a small smile of his own showing as he added, “It’s just as irritating as ever.”

His smile never faltered, not even at the remark of his partner.

“Sorry,” Hera said quickly. “I didn’t mean any offense. It’s just, my–” She stopped. She wasn’t sure what she was about to address him as before she changed her mind. “–Well, my child’s father, he was blinded and later lost to me…it’s been a few months now, but–”

“The wound is still fresh,” Baze said.

“It is,” she frowned, rubbing her stomach as she changed the subject. “You were listening to something just now, weren’t you, Chirrut?”

“I listen to many things,” he said. “The Force is everywhere and it calls to us all. Every man, woman–” he paused and flicked his chin down at her stomach. “–and child.”

The Force. It had been months since Hera had heard about the Force. Without two Jedi around, the topic was lost to her beneath piles of failed op reports, work forms, and order requests. Still, she had seen firsthand the true miracles of the Force. She knew more than most of its potential, though not many others believed in it. It wasn’t their fault. They hadn’t seen it, hadn’t lived with it. Hera had.

He continued. “For I am one with the Force and the Force is with me.”

Baze rolled his eyes.

“Thank you,” Hera said with a hum. “I’ve really missed hearing those words.”

Her voice was pleasant and melodic. It reminded Chirrut of better times, of Killi Gimm, who had died on Jedha along with all the rest. He scooped up her hands in his and held firm.

“All is as the Force wills it. Because of that, things will get better, I know it in my heart to be true.”

And he believed it. He knew that deep down, Baze probably did too, though he’d sooner die than admit it to him face to face.

“General Syndulla!”

She turned at the distant call of her name. It was Kallus. He normally called her more casually, but judging by his tone, and how he was hovering near the briefing room with Captain Andor, she assumed he had something more urgent to discuss.

“Excuse me gentlemen,” she said. “Duty calls.”

“May the Force be with you both.”

Hera smiled, waving as Baze waved back with a tired flick of his wrist as she quickly continued her pursuit to Kallus.

“Captain Kallus, Captain Andor” she greeted.

“General,” Cassian nodded. The man looked like he was ready to keel over. After all she’d heard him going through these last few days, she knew he was in desperate need of rest. “Please excuse me.” He bowed out respectfully and disappeared beneath a crowd of the Rebellion’s varied espionage troopers.

“Hera,” Kallus said. “A word, if you will.”

“You snuck out of the meeting? What happened?”

“Well, it’s not good,” he said. “Draven sent out a fleet to take out the laboratory on Eadu, and Cassian was unable to warn their ceasefire in time. Galen Erso was killed in the attack and Orson Krennic escaped.”

Hera sighed.

“This is a mess,” she grumbled.

“And to heighten our problems, apparently there could be schematics for the Death Star on Scarif, but as of yet, no one is willing to send out a fleet to obtain them.” Kallus showed her his data pad. “I know Mon doesn’t want you in on this, but Hera—it’s big!” He meant it in every sense of the word. “They’re in there arguing whether or not the plans are real, but all are scared witless at the power of the Death Star.”

“I heard.” She frowned. “All those years as an Imperial and you never knew about this.”

“We all knew that the Empire had abundant resources, but we never could have imagined they were being used for this sort of mass scale project. No, this was one of the Empire’s greatest kept secrets.”

She stared at the Death Star drawing on Kallus’ datapad and gasped, remembering suddenly the shape drawn by the Geonosian she’d met all those months ago. A circle within a circle.

“Stupid!” She growled, slapping her head as she griped the nape of her nose and remembered to stay calm for her baby’s sake. “He was trying to warn us– I can’t believe we didn’t understand…”

“Understand what?”

“Kick-Klak!” She sighed heavily into her hands. “A while back, we ran a mission with Saw Gerrera on Geonosis. It all makes sense now. The population vanishing, the strange symbols, the weapons… it was all pointing to this and we were too blind to see it.”

“It isn’t your fault,” he said, but she ignored him.

Kallus shuffled, but scrolled down some and pointed the datapad back to her.

“According to Erso’s daughter, Galen planted a weakness within it, but no one believes her.”

“Do you?”

“I do,” he nodded.

She gave him an inquisitive stare in return. “You sound like you have a plan to help her then?”

“Of a sort, thanks to Cassian,” he said, scratching at his beard. “Though the odds aren’t good. But, when it comes to that, miracles and rotten odds, I usually tend to consider it as your area of expertise.”

She smiled. “Well, let’s see what we can–”

_“General Syndulla please report to the briefing room. General Syndulla, to the briefing room.”_

“Oh great…”

“What do you suppose they want?”

“I might be in trouble for doing a few things the other Generals think is unfit for a woman in my condition. ” She rubbed her face. “Oh I don’t have time for this right now. Go ahead and brief Zeb and Chopper on your plan, and I’ll meet up as soon as I’m done here.”

He chuckled and shook his head. “Good luck.” He frowned. “But try to make it quick. I fear time is no longer a luxury that we can afford.”

“Me too…” She rubbed her stomach and entered the war room, looking back a final time to see that the monks had vanished, as had most of the soldiers in the hangar. She got a pit feeling in her stomach, but jotted it up to the baby kicking and walked inside to face the Rebel Alliance High Command.

* * *

 

“General,” Mon Mothma said. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”

The other generals and leaders were already at the table, most arguing at the meeting that had just transpired.

“This isn’t about me this time, I assume?”

Bail smirked.

“No, not this time, General.”

“I take it you are already up to speed on what has transpired?” Antoc Merrick asked. “You always seem to be one step ahead of us these days.”

Hera wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or an accusation, but she nodded.

“Yes. I know all about Captain Andor’s mission, and I know that the council has decided it is too risky to send a fleet out for these Death Star plans.”

“Supposed plans!” Draven corrected.

“The Death Star is nonsense!” Vasp Vaspar bellowed from the other side of the room.

“No,” Hera shook her head slowly. “No, I am afraid it is very real.”

The council silenced.

“What proof have you?” He asked.

“I crossed paths with a Geonosian who tried to warn us about the Death Star. At the time, we didn’t understand what he was trying to say, and faced with all the facts before us today, there is no doubt in my mind. We know what happened to Jedha, Vaspar.” She stared him down and watched as he shrunk in stature. “The Death Star is very real, and I have reason to believe those plans for it are as well.”

“With your expertise in this particular arrangement,” Mon said. “What do you think we should do, General?”

So this wasn’t about reprimanding her for once? They actually wanted her opinion. Hera thought that was a pleasant change of pace, but masked her delight and shock as she tried to decide what she should say next.

“Well, I don’t think sitting around and waiting for the end is the best plan…” She crossed her arms, albeit awkwardly atop her distended belly.

“Nor do we,” Organa said.

Hera snapped a little as the thought popped into her mind. “I think we should plan an extraction for Scarif. Something small, with reliable troops, maybe stage an inside man and get them in and out again within the next few days.”

“Not bad, but such a strategy will take too long!” Admiral Raddus said with gurgling grunts of his Mon Calamari tongue. “We have to act now while we own the only upper hand we have left,  the element of surprise!”

“Too risky!” Merrick protested. “Both plans are simply too risky. We need to rally towards a bigger fight instead of focusing on lost hopes and what ifs! I say we lock down and prepare to defend ourselves.”

“How do you defend against a planet killer?” It was Dodonna who spoke up this time. “Our only chance is to destroy it.”

“We can’t just go in, blasters blazing!” Tynnra Pamlo argued. “You risk killing every life on this base with your hotheaded schemes!”

Admiral Raddus huffed, his arms flailing as he stomped away, finally having enough to do with the arguing that cycled back and forth with the same points. The entire room seemed to be split down the middle on whether to fight or to stay put, and their overlapping chatter was thunderous as each fought to be heard over the other.

“Please, be calm!” Mon Mothma urged. “This is no time to be at each other’s throats. As leaders of the Rebellion, we must offer a solution to prevent a full-blown war.”

“You speak of war!” Vaspar hollered. “The war is over thanks to the Death Star!”

“Don’t say that!”

“What can we do?”

“It’s over before it even starts!”

“We’re doomed!”

Hera lost track of who was speaking.  _These were the great leaders of the Rebellion?_  With a growing agitation, she slammed her fist on the top of the round table and spoke up after as the war room quickly silenced for her.

“Whether the war is coming or already here, it is never over! Everything we have has been building up to this moment. Risk or no, we have to take our shot at victory!” She paused. “Believe me, I know better than anyone how much a simple victory means for the greater good.” She placed a hand on her shoulder. “And I know all too well how great even a small victory can cost.”

Mon and Bail gave her sympathetic looks, the same they had been giving her for months. She didn’t dare look to the rest of the table, but assumed they were staring back just the same. At least she knew she had their attention now.

“Still, no matter the risks, there are some things that are worth fighting for, worth dying for, and above all else, they are worth the risk if it means the future generations will have a safe galaxy to grow up in.” She pounded her fists on the table again. “A home where there are safe skies for the children to look up at and dream of a future not coated in blood! If there is even a small chance we can make a difference—well, isn’t that what we all signed up for?”

The room was quiet.

Bail gave her a small grin, but Mon only looked like she wanted to console her and ease her out of her newly built up emotions. She had her arm outstretched as if to stop Hera from hitting the table again, but folded her hands together and took a breath.

“Hera be reasonable. We don’t have the time for an inside job, and a preemptive strike simply cannot–”

“You’re scared,” she interrupted. “I know. We’re all scared, Senator. More than we can show, but we can’t be so scared that we’re afraid to take the risk at all!”

She earned a few nods of agreement at that.

“You’d sacrifice us all!” Palmo blurted.

Hera stared at her.

“Everything we do in this Rebellion is sacrifice. If we aren’t willing to risk it all, we’ll never succeed.”

“Do you really think sending in a spy is the best way to retrieve these plans?” Bail asked, his voice a calming change of pace.

“Assuming they even exist?” Draven was still on the side of pessimism and earned a scowl from Hera in return.

“I don’t know the answer,” she finally said after a quick inhale. “But sitting here arguing about it isn’t going to solve anything. If you will excuse me…” She gave a slight nod to everyone in the room. “I have to figure out a way to save all our lives!”

She turned and left the war room as the remaining member stood around and argued further. Once out in the bay, there was still no sign of the monks, or of Captain Andor and the other ground troops.

She shoved it to the back of her mind. Right now, Hera had to find Kallus. Together, maybe they could come up with a plan. No matter what, Hera would make sure to cover all their bases, real or not.  

* * *

 

“Cassian’s gone?” Hera blinked.

“With a shipload of soldiers too,” Kallus informed. “They say they took off in an impounded imperial shuttle. The call sign was  _“Rogue One”_.”

“There is no  _Rogue One_?”

“There is now,” Zeb replied, a smirk on his face.

“Was this part of your plan?” Hera looked to Kallus.

“This was Cassian’s plan,” he frowned. “But I was willing to lend him my support. I just didn’t think they would sneak off so soon. Blast it, Cassian. He was always impatient.”

“He learned from the best!” Zeb nudged.

“Regardless,” Hera said. “They need backup!”

“They are obviously heading towards Scarif,” Kallus said. “I doubt we have anyone else looking into the area thanks to that planet-wide deflector shield.”

“I agree.”

The three froze at the fourth voice near the  _Ghost’s_ docking ramp, and turned swiftly to face him.

Hera jumped.

“Admiral Raddus!” 

“At ease!” He said with a swat-like wave of his hand. “Now I know you three are plotting something–”

“Admiral, if I could just explai–” Kallus started, but was interrupted.

“I want in.”

They were stupefied for a moment, but exchanged glances and looked back to Raddus.

“You want to help them too?” Zeb asked.

“Of course. Now let’s figure out a way to ensure this unit is successful at retrieving these plans. It is imperative that we collect them or we might as well lay down and wait to die. So, what can we do?”

“With all due respect Admiral,” Hera said. “Even with the  _Profundity_ , I don’t think we can do this alone.”

“I agree.” He said. “We need the fleet, but the other generals will never agree to send them out. Not until it’s too late.”

“Unless… “ She snapped. “Unless they have no choice but to go out!”

“What are you thinking?” Zeb asked.

“Chopper!” Hera ordered.

He buzzed.

“Get down to the communications room and patch one of the terminals in to listen for Imperial chatter directly from Scarif. Make it sound like their cover is already blown, then we can send out the help they need.”

“Assuming their cover isn’t already blown.”

She gave him a look. “They went in with a small army, they are absolutely going to get discovered, but hopefully we’re a little faster with our message.”

“And when the other leaders hear about some Rebels on Scarif…“ Zeb started.

Kallus concluded, “They will want to deploy fighters to intercept and aide!”

“Especially if I have already gone in ahead to fight myself,” Raddus said, looking to the crew with a sneaky grin. “I’ll be ready to leave at the signal. You make sure the Rebellion follows suit to Scarif. I’m counting on you Ghost crew!”

They saluted.

“Leave it to us, Admiral!” Zeb said.

“We’ll be right behind you!” Kallus assured.

“And May the Force be with you.”

With a final nod the five dispersed and put their plan into action.

* * *

 

“Senator!” The man’s voice was as frantic as his running as he bolted through the hangar.

Chopper barely turned his head as he continued into the crowd. No one had seen him slip in or out of that communications chamber. So as long as he headed straight for the ship, everything would go as planned.

 _That was that._  Chopper thought, activating his comm link as he alerted Hera and Raddus of the signal.

_[They took the bait. Go!]_

“Senator!” He yelled again.

“Stop right there private.”

“Let him speak.”

“Intercepted Imperial Transmission ma’am. Rebels on Scarif.”

Hera motioned Chop into the ship and they shut the door as Mon Mothma and Antoc Merrick looked worriedly at one another. By then Raddus had his ship launched into the outer atmosphere, and the  _Ghost_  was about to follow their lead.

“Ready to join the fight, boys?”

Kallus, Zeb, and Chopper nodded.

“Are you?” Zeb asked, his voice laced with concern.

She rubbed her stomach and nodded.

“We’ll be cautious,” Kallus urged. “And we’ll strictly provide air support. Nothing more.”

Chopper chirped affirmatively.

“Then it’s settled,” Hera said, taking her seat as alarms in the hangar alerted all pilots to prepare themselves for launch.  “Ready on the guns you three, I’m punching in our coordinates now.”

“Our plan worked,” Kallus stated as he made his way down to the lower nose gun. “Now let’s see to it that Cassian’s plan is just as much a success.”

* * *

 

It was a tremendous battle, halted as all time and space seemed to stop upon witnessing the great structure that had just appeared before them.

“What…is that?” Hera’s eyes grew wide.

“Karabast…” His voice was so light they barely heard it.

“The Death Star…” Kallus breathed.

Hera felt a pang of pain in her stomach, but forced it away with shock. The space station, no the weapon, it was larger than some planets’ moons. They knew it was supposed to be big, but illustrations didn’t do it justice. The Death Star was simply daunting.

Then came the green light. Scarif lit up like the sand itself was set on fire, pulsating in on itself as though the planet was trying to swallow its own beach. The fleet could only watch in horror, helpless to do anything but stare.

_So this was the power of the Death Star._

All three felt their blood run so cold that they thought they might see the puffs of white air in front of their faces. Even Chopper’s circuits were dazed as he watched the destruction from above. They simply stood at the viewport with their mouths agape and eyes as wide as they could go. The pure destructive force… Nobody should have a weapon like that, and yet, here they watched it with their very own eyes. It was sickening.

Chopper beeped suddenly and an alert rang out on the dash.

“Raddus has the plans!” Hera said, snapping back to reality as she read her monitor and grabbed for the controls.

“All ships prepare the jump to hyperspace.”

It was Raddus.

Hera blinked, taking one last look down at Scarif. 

Zeb only swallowed.

“We have to go!” Kallus finally said.

“Right…” She shook her head, and winced. Another sharp pain. She typed in the coordinates and the  _Ghost_  darted away like all the rest. 

They barely had time to notice the Super-Class Star Destroyer that crushed one of the fleeing ships as they made their quick escape. Luckily, they were gone before it saw them in return.

They were safe, but everyone got the strongest feeling that something in those last few seconds had gone horribly wrong. They wouldn’t know it,  _however,_  until what was left of the Rebel fleet landed back on Yavin IV and they saw just how much of the Rebellion was left.

* * *

 

Their numbers were significantly smaller than when they had departed. So many dead, so many lost. The hangar almost looked empty due to all the missing X-Wings. So many…just gone.

The  _Ghost_  landed with a soft thud into the dirt outside the hangar and powered down, but no one made an effort to get out of their seats. They couldn’t. Everyone was still in shock.

“Wh–what now?” Zeb asked, his voice returning to a dry and pained throat.

“No. No no no no!” Kallus shook his head as he moved away from the co-pilot’s chair.

“What?” Hera asked, trying hard not to grit her teeth. Her stomach pains were growing more and more intense, and she knew what it meant now, but couldn’t bear to speak up about it.

“Admiral Raddus didn’t make the jump!” Kallus pointed. “Where is the  _Profundity_?”

“Karabast…You don’t think the ship got shot down by that  _Dreadnought_ , do you?”

“For all of our sakes, Zeb, I hope not.”

A long silent moment passed before anyone said anything. Then the silence was broken.

“Cassian was down there,” Zeb’s ears flattened. “Pao too.”

Chopper mentioned K2-SO, and whirled sadly. The two had always gotten along like oil and water, but they liked it that way. He would miss the old pile of scrap and his refreshing cynicism. Not many droids were like that. It was a great loss.

“There were a lot of good men and women down there,” Kallus frowned.

“Up in the air too,” Hera said, her breath coming out hard.

Chopper noticed and she winced.

 _“WUH BUH BER WAH BAH?”_  He asked.

“I’m fine.” She stood, only to double over a moment later and fall back to her chair with a hiss of pain trembling out past her lips.

“Hera!” Zeb was at her side at an instant. “Hera! What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Kallus was at her other side the moment she turned from her chair. She couldn’t bear to stand.

“I’m fine,” she said through gritted teeth, hunching over a moment later as Zeb and to a lesser extent, Kallus held her upright. It stung every inch of her just to stand. “Agh!” She grunted and squeezed Zeb’s hand as she pulled herself up. “No… not fine, not fine…I think–agh!”

“Is it the baby?” Kallus paled a little. “But… it’s not due for another few weeks!”

Hera didn’t have the voice to make a snide remark, she was breathing too heavily, but nodded and shot him a look.

“We have to get you to the med bay!” He stressed the sentence as if it was something Hera was not already acutely aware of.

Chopper whirled around in a panic.

Zeb wiped a bead of sweat from her brow and asked calmly, “Can you walk?”

She looked at him, trying to will her brain and feet to follow one another’s orders. She shook her head, and in an instant, Zeb had her held high in his arms, as gently as he could manage.

“Alright, now everyone calm down!”

Chopper and Kallus stopped. Kallus was listing off any and all supplies they might need. He’d packed her an overnight bag just in case and had read up on anything he could grab in relation to childbirth. Chopper was simply panicking for Hera’s sake, arguing with Kallus on what was and was not important to their immediate situation. Zeb was calm though, and through his calmness, they too followed his lead.

“Now,” Zeb said. “Alex, you get Hera’s bag, and Chop, you call ahead to the med bay. I’ll get Hera to the hospital wing.”

“There will be–” Hera grunted. “Wounded from Scarif…”

“I know,” he frowned. “But we can get you in first.”

“No–I can wai—” she was starting to protest, but was silenced by another contraction and Zeb was already heading out the door.

“Let’s move it people!” He ordered. “Go! Go!”

* * *

 

Hera saw the line of wounded being rushed into the bacta tanks and waiting rooms. It wasn’t nearly as bad as she’d thought it would be, but then again, she knew how many more died in that battle than got injured. It made her stomach turn before another jolt made her grip the cloth of Zeb’s uniform.

“General Syndulla!” A soldier stood, his head bloody, but otherwise okay.

“She’ll be fine,” Zeb answered for her. “Do you know where one of the medical droids are?”

“No sir, Captain Orrelios!” He shook his head. “But I know a room just opened up behind that curtain. Broken arm was all! Please go in ahead, we understand!”

“Thank you!” He nodded and parted the curtain to set her down on the bed. The walls were real, but the door was nothing but a thin cloth. Not the ideal setting, but there was no blood in the room, so that was a good sign.

“Alright,” he said, “You wait here, Hera, and I’ll go drag in that medical droid.”

“Zeb!” She surprised herself with the speed and strength in her grasp. “Wait! Please…”

He did and she gripped tighter.

“I need to know—” She panted. “What happened to those plans.”

He looked at her as thought her skin had sporadically changed into thirty-seven different colors.

“Don’t worry about that right now!” He exclaimed. “Worry about yourself.”

She tried to protest, but this kid was sure making that difficult to accomplish.

“This can’t have all been–for nothing!” She said, laying her head back as a tear escaped her eye. “It just can’t.”

“Just calm down for now, Hera.” Zeb frowned. “I swear I’ll find out everything I can, but you have to focus on this baby first. That’s an order. Now do those breathing exercises Kal taught you and try to relax.”

She smirked at that, and nodded without another word of protest.

Kallus and Chopper rushed in a moment later, Kallus with Hera’s bag, and Chopper with the confused medical droid he no doubt hauled away from somewhere down the hall.

“Hey, stop!” a nurse called. Entering the room to see the group and stopped. “Oh, General Syndulla. What is the meaning of this?”

“It’s the baby,” Zeb alerted. “I think all the excitement is making it come early.”

“Understood,” the medical droid said, its eyes blipping as it started to recall its memories of birthing practices. “I will need room to work. Please step outside.”

Chopper protested.

“Especially you,” the droid stated back.

“It’s okay, Chop,” Hera spoke between breaths.

Reluctantly, he turned and strolled out as the nurse coaxed Zeb and Kallus out with him. 

“Don’t worry, we can handle this much,” she said.

“Is there anything we can do?” Kallus inquired.

She was about to say no, but handed them a medpack and pointed down the hall.

“Help by treating some of the more minor injuries. We’re short handed!”

They nodded and she closed the curtain.

“Chopper,” Zeb said with a frown. “Wait here and make sure Hera’s okay. We’ll go help the wounded.”

Chopper didn’t respond, he only stared at the thin white curtain. It felt more like an ironclad wall the way it separated him from her. His worry was plain as the orange paint on his dome and his eye was focused only on the moment the curtain would draw back again.

Zeb grumbled worriedly, but took the medpack and followed Kallus down the hall.

* * *

 

A small collection of soldiers were huddled around Zeb as he did his best to treat their injuries. Setting broken limbs, wrapping cuts, applying salve– these were all things he could do, and luckily the med staff wasn’t so bombarded that he’d had to deal with anything too serious.

“Hey, the Captain’s back!” One pointed.

Zeb turned as Kallus approached them, his face tired and spiritually drained even more so than before he went to the impromptu council meeting.

“What did they say?” Zeb asked.

He shook his head.

“Apparently, that Star Destroyer was no ordinary ship. It was the  _Executor_. Vader’s personal flagship.”

Zeb and all who had ever met eyes with Darth Vader and lived to tell about it felt their hair stand on end.

“Vader single handedly took the  _Profundity_  down, and slayed every person aboard.”

They all frowned, until one man spoke up.

“What about the Death Star plans?!”

Kallus sighed.

“Apparently a secondary vessel attached to the  _Profundity_ and escaped with the plans before Vader could intercept them. However, we’ve just received word that the ship was sent out by Senator Bail Organa, most presumably led by his young daughter, Leia.”

“That’s good! I’ve met Leia, she’s a capable warrior!” Zeb smiled, though frowning a moment after because Kallus did not sound like he was finished with his report. Zeb feared how it would end.

“The  _Tantive IV_  was chased down and captured,” Kallus informed. “We’ve already received word that everyone on board had been either killed or captured.” He rubbed his brow. “They are most likely being interrogated as we speak.”

They deserved to know the truth, but Kallus hated to be the bearer of such bad news. He swallowed those regrets back and continued.

“We believe the princess in particular was taken captive, though, we don’t know where they are now, nor what she managed to do with the plans. We do know they are not currently in the Empire’s hands, so at least there is a small window of hope.”

Silence.

How long had they been down here, an hour? Two? A lot can happen to some stray data or to a person’s life in that amount of time. Everyone knew it too. It was only a matter of time before the Empire found the Death Star plans, or until the Death Star came straight to Yavin to destroy them all. With the torturing mechanisms at the Empire’s disposal, it was only a matter of time before someone talked. The small window of hope was looking more and more like a peephole drilled into the side of a wall.

“Why is it everytime we win, we lose?” Zeb sighed.

He placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and sighed.

“What do we do?”

Kallus looked down at the wounded soldier, his arm bandaged quite well by Zeb, and his eyes young, frightened. He was hardly older than Ezra, Kallus imagined. Which made what he was about to say even harder to let out.

“We have to prepare for the possible inevitability of a total evacuation on Yavin.”

The soldiers swapped worried glares and soft sentences between them.

“Should we go now?” A woman asked, her eye bandaged.

Kallus nodded.

“You may want to retrieve your belongings just in case and await further orders as calmly as you can.”

“So we’re just going to run?” Now the young man who spoke was angry, a fire in his eyes as he stood, his arm in a sling.

“I hope not, soldier,” Kallus frowned. “I hope not.”

The group mumbled, but dispersed a moment later, leaving Zeb and Kallus alone in the now quiet med bay.

“Excuse me?”

They turned, it was the nurse from before.

“Nurse Harter!” Kallas blurted, Zeb tripping over himself to follow up the statement.

“How is she!?” He asked, unable to think of anything else to say aside those three crucial words.

“General Syndulla is fine. The birth was fairly standard for being so premature, and as a hybrid too! But, the baby is completely healthy. They are ready for visitors now.” She shot them each a look. “That angry droid is already inside.”

“Thank you,” Zeb said with a bow and rushed off in an instant.

Kallus returned the now empty medpack to her.

“It seems the wounded have stopped coming in.”

“Thank the stars,” she said. “Thank you for lending your aid, Captain.”

“Of course.”

She stopped him before he could walk away and looked up at him with a great sadness in her stare.

“Is what you were saying true? About evacuation?”

He sighed, took one glance down at the floor, and then nodded.

“The galaxy will look back on this day with a great sadness,” she frowned. “I only hope we will survive long enough to do so ourselves.”

She turned and hurried down the hall to another room.

Kallus swallowed back his feelings and made a direct path to Hera’s room. The only thing that was keeping him going right now, was seeing that newborn baby’s innocent face. It was the only good thing to come out of today, and he’d hold onto that feeling if it killed him.

* * *

 

“Hera!” Zeb nearly tore the curtain from its post.

“Shhh…” She warned him calmly. “Come on in.”

The room was quiet, the bundle in her arms held closely to her chest as Chopper peeked over at it.

Kallus entered a moment later and smiled softly at the sight of everyone together.

“How are you feeling?” He asked.

She rest her head back, but smiled with noticeable exhaustion in her voice.

“On top of the world!”

Now, everyone could admit, they were curious as to what this baby was going to look like. Rex told them about some Twi’lek-Human hybrid children he’d met during the Clone Wars, but even then, the breed was rare and no two looked the same. Sabine had a betting pool going on Lothal dedicated to just that, and even Hera wondered just what her and Kanan’s genes did when they were blended together.

“Well…” Zeb asked. “Is it a Dawn or a Jacen?”

Hera had chosen her names months ago, but avoided getting a gender reveal done in order to maintain the mystery, and even though she had a pretty good idea about the gender long ago, the surprise overjoyed her all the same.

“Jacen,” she smiled.

The boys hovered over Hera and she tipped the bundle back to reveal the baby, a small, pale-skinned child, ruddy hued and human looking aside faint markings of green on the tips of his ears and the back of his head. Certainly not what they imagined, but they were instantly in love nevertheless and their grins widened.

“He’s perfect!”

Jacen’s eyes opened, blinking as the new lights and sounds enveloped him. His eyes, they were so blue.

Zeb sniffed and wiped a tear from his eye, earning a pat on the back from Kallus.

“Welcome to the galaxy, mate!” He smiled.

“Hey there little one,” Kallus waved slightly.

Chopper buzzed a series of words so kind, it made Kallus and Zeb blink away shocked expressions afterwards.

“Jacen,” Hera nuzzled him gently. “My little Jacen.”

“Congratulations,” Kallus said.

 _“BUH BER BAH WAH BUH WER…”_  Chopper said softly.

“Yeah…” Zeb rubbed the back of his neck and patted the droid. Now everyone’s eyes had tears in them. “Kanan would have loved this.”

Hera held her baby closer as the tears fell slowly.

“You know,” she started. “I always–”

Jacen suddenly burst into loud wailing cries and it took everyone aback.

“Shhh. Shhh. Little luv, it’s alright, shhh.”

“What’s wrong?” Zeb asked.

“I’m not sure…” Hera said, her eyes worried before the running in the halls rumbled the walls. The sound thunderous and panicked as dozens of soldiers ran from one side of the base to the other.

“What in the world?” Zeb looked towards the curtain, a hand unconsciously hovering over Hera and Jacen protectively.

“Go check, will you?”

“Hey!” Kallus ordered, though no one was listening. “Hey! Now! What’s happened?”

“Wedge!” Zeb plucked him out of the crowd and pulled him into their room.

“Wedge,” Hera asked, her voice more tired now as she used what little remained of her energy to look concerned. “What’s going on?”

“General Syndulla!” He frowned, looking to Jacen with a solemn smile that melted away before it could fully spread. He wanted to be happy for her but his face was incapable of doing so. “It’s the Death Star,” he said. “They said it just struck another target.”

“Oh no!” Their replies were empty, the last of their hope being wrung out of them like an already dried sponge.

Poor Jacen was still bawling, his face red as he cried and cried. Nothing they could do would console him, but Hera tried her best to keep him quiet enough to hear everyone speak.

“What city?” Zeb asked.

“Not a city!” Antilles breathed out in a snarl, the pain in his eyes growing as he looked up at them and paled. “They say it blew up an entire planet.”

They froze.

“I-impossible…”

Jacen’s wails were even louder. It was as though he knew what had happened moments before the rest of the base did. Hera looked to him, rocking him gently as he finally started to cry himself out.

“What planet was it?” Hera asked, her breath shaky.

“They said it was–” Wedge swallowed. “Alderaan.”

Hera placed a hand on her mouth.

“The Death Star plans?” Kallus asked.

“They are…presumed lost…”

She shut her eyes as tight as they could go, rocking her head back and forth as she held her child closer.

“I am so sorry,” he said, “They’re about to tell us more in the briefing room. That’s where everyone is heading.”

“I have to get to the bottom of this,” Kallus said. “Don’t—” What? Worry? He couldn’t tell them that, because he was so worried he felt the sickness in his stomach welling over. “Just—” He paused. “I’ll be back soon with answers. Come on Wedge.”

They left and Zeb looked back to Hera. She was crying, holding Chopper’s hand and crying silently as Jacen’s own cries sputtered out like a dying engine.

He walked over and hugged them both.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said.

“We don’t know that anymore,” Hera whispered.

He hugged tighter.

“I wish Kanan were here. And Ezra… and Sabine.”

“Me too,” Zeb sighed.

Chopper agreed.

“But we can’t– we can’t afford to be sad right now,” Hera said, her voice growing stronger.

Jacen finally stopped crying too, or he had cried himself to sleep, one or the other.

She sat up and Chopper and Zeb looked to her as her brows arched and she wiped the last of her tears away.

“You two… We have to be strong now. For Jacen.” She looked at him. “He needs us to keep fighting. No matter how bad it gets out there, we’ll protect him and the universe we live in. No matter what.”

Zeb and Chopper nodded in agreement.

“Right now…” She sighed. “It’s literally all we can do…”

The words of the blind monk echoed in her mind.  _“All is as the Force wills it.”_

But this was no will of the force, this was a blatant strike against peace. So many dead, she couldn’t even count how many faces she knew who were lost on this day—this day—the day of her son’s birth. Every cycle he would get another year older and it will be another year reminded of how much was lost to them. She knew how Ezra felt, his birthday falling on Empire Day, but poor Jacen, he would grow up sharing one of the happiest days of his life with one of the saddest events in the history of the modern galaxy.

“I’m sorry Jacen,” she said aloud. “I’m so sorry this is what you were born into.”

“Hera,” Zeb started.

“I’m sorry Zeb,” she sighed. “Could you– give us a few moments alone?”

He stood unsurely, but nodded.

“Of course,” he said.

“Maybe you should join the meeting too? Kallus didn’t look so good. I think he needs your support, now more than ever.”

His ears flattened.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” she said with a breath. “I just need some time to rest. Chopper will look after us, don’t worry.”

The Lasat debated staying, but nodded with a reluctant groan and let her have her space.

Chopper held her hand again, and she stroked the top of his head as silence filled the abandoned medical area. The baby was quiet, breathing softly as he slept soundly in her arms. He was so beautiful, she wished with every fiber of her being that Kanan could have seen him, just once.

She knew he knew about him though. Kanan and Ezra had a way of sensing these things before they left her life. The Meiloorun was all she craved with Jacen, and Kanan refused to let anything bad happen to prevent this. This exact moment. He gave his life so Jacen could have today, and if that wasn’t love, then Hera didn’t know what love was.

“Jacen, never think that today makes you any less important. You are the most important thing in my life, and if today has to be filled with so much darkness, then you will have to be its light.”

She hugged him close and shut her eyes. She really was tired, it was hitting her against the otherwise persistent feeling that she never wanted to close her eyes again. Eventually Chopper coaxed her into relaxing deeper into the bed and pulled up her sheets with a soft, satisfactory pat.

As Hera drifted off to sleep, she kissed her son on the forehead and whispered a promise to him with her final conscious breath.

“I won’t let you grow up in war like I did. We’ll find a way to beat them. I promise.”

And as she drifted off to sleep, she still heard that cheery voice of the monk from the hangar.

_“All is as the Force wills it. Because of that, things will get better, I know it in my heart to be true.”_

And Hera knew it too.


End file.
